But it was more than just a battle for money says JOHN CAIN

Recent pay negotiations at Hanson Construction Materials were very tough going but we managed to achieve a rather good outcome after a fair bit of biffo.

All up I think the troops were either on strike or locked out by the company for eight days. It came down to a case of who blinks first and the aggie drivers, quarry workers and tipper & tanker drivers didn't bat an eyelid. I think there was more to this battle than money. Many of our people were pissed off about the lack of respect from certain middle-managers. They were out to make a point.

Hanson had originally offered 2.2% + 2.6% + 3% but their offer was firmly rejected on several occasions.
We were fighting for a two-year deal with two 5% Increases. Hanson's argued they were the best payers in their industry and wouldn't budge.
However our people were resolute and slowly wore Hansons down. The stoppages were hurting the company and gradually they made small concessions.

These minor increases in entitlements began to add up to an offer that was good enough for our members to accept.
The offer eventually accepted included.
• A $700 bonus for doing a bit additional paperwork.
• Two special performance bonuses totaling $800.
• A 3.4% pay increase.
• An increase in meal allowance to $80 per week for quarry employees.
• Double time for all early morning work up to 7am.

It's a bit hard to put a percentage increase on the deal but it will provide significant immediate increases. And it was hard-earned.
The TWU would like to congratulate all our Hanson members and in particular Danny Tognala, Tony Coniglio Dave ‘Fish' Salmon and all our other delegates who were simply marvelous.